Inside the Mind of Scott Peterson

by Keith Ablow

Book Overview

The highly publicized Scott Peterson murder case captivated a public hungry for the answer to one question: Why would a man with no known history of violent crime or mental illness and with a pretty... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312940521
• ISBN13: 9780312940522
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 335 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Birth Equals Death

This book is a must read for all who closely follow the Peterson case. Dr. Keith Ablow writes a gripping and compelling analysis of the psychology of not only Scott Peterson, but of the family tragedy and dysfunction that created Scott; dating back generations. The book is written in a very conversational non-clinical style. It's as if one were sitting down with brandy after a satisfying meal, to discuss the Peterson case with a learned friend. Interspersed with acknowledged facts are fanciful ruminations of "what if..." and "his mind may have thought...". Dr. Ablow asserts that for Scott, birth equals death, and the murder of Laci was as good as accomplished the moment she became pregnant. It is fascinating to read of the series of horrific events visited on this family beginning with the murder of Scott's grandfather in December of 1945. From that point forward, Decembers became twisted re-visitations and amplifications of pain, loss, and death. Dr Ablow details how Scott was psychologically strangled and dehumanized from the moment his life began. " He was not really a person". The parallels are uncanny. As an example: Scott was born with respiratory difficulties and spent the first days of his life isolated away from his mother in a plastic incubator, gasping to breathe. Connor died in the womb, struggling with lack of oxygenated blood because his mother Laci was dead. None of this in any way excuses what Scott Peterson did. His sociopathic behavior is terrifying and the jury found it deserving of the death penalty. But it is useful to understand how trauma begets trauma. Dr Ablow challenges us to break cycles of violence. "We have the capacity to heal one another. We also have the capacity to destroy one another". This book should speak in broader tones to all of us, to examine our own lives and determine which of our actions will affect the future for the better, and which for the worse.

An extensive study of Peterson's family history and its effects oh his behavior

Dr. Keith Ablow is a forensic psychiatrist whose specialty is profiling, analyzing and exploring the black holes that seem to comprise the minds of criminals who have committed the most heinous crimes. His mission is to find out what happened in the formation and life of these felons in order to determine why they act the way they do. Ablow is also a prolific author who writes both nonfiction books and a series of novels that star a fictional forensic psychiatrist (his alter ego, perhaps?). His new book is titled INSIDE THE MIND OF SCOTT PETERSON. And if truth is stranger than fiction, the theories expounded here posit a very frightening account of the murders of Scott Peterson's wife and unborn son. Ablow was pulled into the case on a professional level and a human concern. He feels there are some questions that still haunt the people both inside and outside of the Laci and Conner Peterson murders: Why did this awful and senseless killing happen? Why would a seemingly happily married father-to-be destroy his wife and unborn son? Why didn't this clean-cut, soft-spoken young husband completely dissociate himself from the searches for Laci and adopt the persona of a man on the run? In order to understand the premise upon which his ideas are built, readers need to have a sense of how Dr. Ablow works and what he believes is the basis for the creation of a sociopath (psychopath). He explains: "My work has included evaluating dozens of murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and other violent criminals and testifying about them in district, state, and federal courts. Without exception, my task has been to find the story that explains not what happened to victims but why it happened --- why some people destroy others. In order to do so, I have had to journey deep into the psyches of men and women without empathy, capable of brutal acts. And I have become a relentless burrower for the truth about such people. My mind does not rest until I find it. Because once I do, I have my reward: I realize again that nothing and no one is beyond human understanding --- not even those we call monsters." For this book Ablow conducted an extensive investigation, interviewing members of the Peterson family and extended family, friends and acquaintances, which helped put much of their history into a clinical form for analysis. Ablow even created a website dedicated to learning about early traumas in Scott's life and reading and watching everything he could find about him. He says: "I am convinced that Laci and Conner lost their lives to a psychological 'perfect storm' that began gathering over the Peterson family over five decades ago and reached hurricane strength in the psyche of Scott Peterson. The road to the 2002 murders of a young woman full of life and the innocent child she carried" was pre-ordained when, just before Christmas in December 1945, his maternal grandfather was murdered. To bolster his theories, Ablow goes into detail about that killing and how it and its r

Unique and Important Insights!

Though I generally do not read true crime nonfiction books, I picked this one up, because I've long been a reader of fictional thrillers, and Dr. Keith Ablow, MD, is one of my favorites:(THE ARCHITECT and other Frank Clevenger series novels). As a counselor, I'm exceptionally appreciative of anyone who shows an intuitive understanding of how impressionable and fragile are the developing psyches of children and teenagers. Dr. Ablow demonstrates this understanding in all of his novels. I followed the Peterson case like millions of other people, because I was so touched by the Christmas-time tragedy of a beautiful young woman, ecstatically pregnant, and then brutally taken from those who loved her, at the very time when they had planned to gather for a loving family holiday celebration. So, I was doubly motivated to read Ablow's INSIDE THE MIND OF SCOTT PETERSON. I was not disappointed, and neither will you be! Through research, insight, interviews, and his extensive experience as a forensic and private psychiatrist, Dr. Ablow takes the reader behind the media frenzy and inside the sad multi generational family history of the Peterson family. Ablow relates a conversation he had with Scott's father, during which Lee Peterson described Scott as a child who never needed discipline. Neighbors who knew Scott as a child, compared this unnatural constraint with the natural boisterousness of their own children. Scott's parents have described him as their "golden boy," but other relatives and acquaintances of the family have described him as an empty shell, incapable of feeling either his own pain or the pain of others. Like most sociopaths, Scott wore a convincing "mask of sanity," and it takes an experienced psychiatrist like Dr. Ablow to help us see what lies beneath that bland mask Scott displayed during his trial. As a school counselor, I have felt the weight of responsibility to try to spot children whose natural emotional development could possibly become strangled or twisted and who need intervention before they too become dead inside. In taking us INSIDE THE MIND OF SCOTT PETERSON, Dr. Ablow helps readers become more alert to these same concerns. it is incumbent on us all to make society more responsible for looking out for the mental health and future of all of our children. INSIDE THE MIND OF SCOTT PETERSON It is not only a riveting read, but an important education for anyone interested in preventing more tragedies like Laci and Conner Peterson.

Lots of food for thought

I enjoyed this book very much, but I do wish Dr. Ablow had given a bit more background/detail about other members of Scott's family, i.e., his sisters-in-law, and the reason for the break-ups of his borthers' marriages. This might possibly shed more light on Scott's personality, especially because his brothers are significatly older than he, and it would also fit in with the family's code of denial. (Remember how his one sister-in-law, Janey, kept coming to Scott's defense to the media?) As a mental health professional myself, Iwas impressed at how Dr. Ablow was able to fit the pieces of Scott's family background and show us how Scott came to be the cold blooded killer he is. However, I must say, I do not agree with Ablow's diagnosis of insanity. Someone who was able to pre-plan his pregnant wife's murder to the degree that Scott Peterson planned Laci and Connor's murder is very calculating. Scott knew exactly what he was doing. He is a sociopath, but he is not insane.

All those obsessed with the Scott Peterson trial: THIS IS THE BOOK TO READ

I have read every book published concerning the murders of Laci and Connor Peterson. This book (aside from A Deadly Game) is one of the BEST!!!! I AM A THERAPIST, therefore very interested in "why" people do the things they do. This book pinpoints EXACTLY why Scott Peterson murdered Laci and Connor. I agree with his theory (and had the same theory before reading this book)as to why Scott Peterson killed his wife and son. However, I do not agree with how he believes they were killed. (He should stick to psychiatry and leave the "how" to the police) This book is easy to follow and understand even if you do not have a background in psychology. The author is very good at pulling everything together and articulating it in such a way that really puts all of the missing pieces together. The others who gave this book negative reviews, I feel, fail to understand psychology and completely missed the point. The examples given by some of the other reviews are misleading and out of context. I only took the time to write this review because I am a therapist, I have followed this story and the author did an excellent job wrapping up all the loose ends. *****He does NOT describle Laci in a negative light, he is only trying to help you understand why the two (Laci and Scott) would bebe drawn to one another and seem to match so well. If the other reviewers would have kept in mind this is a "psychological analysis" then perhaps, they would understand why it was nessecary and appropriate for the author to also make an analysis of Laci. That is what this book is about! And don't we as readers want his professional opinion??????/ Thats why we read the book! THOSE OF YOU WHO CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THIS STORY AND KEEP SEARCHING FOR THAT MISSING PIECE: THIS BOOK GIVES THE FINAL PIECE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT ENCOURAGE YOU ENOUGH TO READ THIS BOOK!